Project Description

Nancy Toomey Fine Art is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by Casper Brindle entitled Light and Space Divisible on view from May 3 to June 17, 2017. The gallery is located inside San Francisco’s Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street. The public is invited to the artist reception on Saturday, May 6, from 5pm to 7pm. Join the event page here.

Casper Brindle Light and Space Divisible Exhibition Gallery

Casper Brindle continues his pursuit of the expressive possibilities of color with his Strata series. Occupying the space where Color Field painting, Light and Space conceptualism and Finish Fetish sensibilities intersect, Brindle’s polychromatic compositions tap into the mystic realm of color. The artist grew up along the Southern California coast, and the region’s fabled surroundings no doubt made an impression on him. Though these paintings reference vast horizons, they transcend the representational suggestion of land and sea. Brindle’s simplified use of form and masterful use of color echo the emotive paintings of Rothko, enveloping the viewer in expansive fields that not only delight the senses, but also elicit deeper emotional responses.

Utilizing tools and techniques borrowed from Southern California car culture, Brindle applies fine layers of airbrushed automotive paints to create atmospheric gradations. The high gloss, resin surfaces appear to liquefy the shimmering stratums of color beneath them to intoxicating effect. In his early works, the artist often embedded glowing bands of LEDs in his paintings, but he has now managed to harness the effect of light solely with color. Pushing his palette to new extremes, Brindle uses near-supernatural colors, juxtaposing atmospheric gradations that echo out from hard-edge horizon lines.

Casper Brindle Light and Space Divisible Exhibition Gallery

In a departure from his Strata paintings, Brindle introduces the Aura series. Upon first glance these works appear to be austere white paintings but, viewed from different angles, underlying visual structures begin to emerge. These ghostly forms rise to the surface and seem to vibrate with energy. This visual activity is enhanced by the glowing neon halos that radiate from the pieces themselves, extending their presence onto the wall behind them. The enigmatic bars of metallic color which float in the center of each piece inspire quiet reverence, becoming almost sacred in their simplicity. The interpretation of these cryptic monolithic forms is left up to the viewer.

With a Minimalist sensibility reminiscent of the wall sculptures of Donald Judd and Robert Irwin, these ethereal pieces challenge our notions of perception. Art critic Peter Frank has remarked that Brindle’s work both declares, “What you see is what you see,” and then asks, “Are you sure you’re seeing what you’re seeing? All the while, the eye delights in the ruse–and the retinal trickery becomes revelatory.”

Casper Brindle, Artist Portrait Photo by Bobby Quillard

Los Angeles based artist Casper Brindle specializes in mixed media abstraction, Light and Space, and Finish Fetish. Born in Toronto, Canada, shortly after his parents emigrated there from England, the family moved to LA in 1974. Brindle’s life spent between the beaches and alleys of Los Angeles’ Westside during the 1970s and 80s is reflected in his use of color, material choices, and visual vocabulary. He worked for Light and Space artist Eric Orr in the late 1980s, and the movement, as well as the landscape from which it arose, has effected the artist’s own production. Brindle’s art has been exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, and written about in, among others, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Art in America.